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Earthquake Blackout Points to Japan’s Fragility

A nearly nuclear-free Japan looks to improve its resilience after string of disasters

Footage shows the damage caused by a strong earthquake that struck the island of Hokkaido on Thursday, with rescuers racing to find survivors, just days after the country was battered by its worst typhoon in 25 years. Photo: AP

TOKYO—More than a million homes in Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido were without power two days after an earthquake that highlighted the fragility of the nation’s energy supply following its nuclear accident in 2011.

The effects of the Hokkaido quake and a typhoon that hit Osaka rippled across the world’s third-largest economy. Toyota Motor Corp. said it would shut down some production lines on Saturday because a Toyota subsidiary’s factory in Hokkaido that makes transmissions had to shut down.